Asian stocks close higher in calm

Passersby watch stock prices Thursday in downtown Tokyo, where the market posted a slight rise

By staff and wire reports

HONG KONG, China -- Asian stocks bounced back Thursday, after Wednesday's heavy losses.

Tokyo posted a slight rise. Hong Kong put on almost a percentage point. Australia gained half a percent.

Korean stocks roared back, closing with a gain of almost five percent. They were the heaviest hit on Wednesday.

Taiwan had a large drop, as its stocks started trading for the first time since Tuesday's disaster in the United States.

But overall, there was a sense of the calm after the storm.

U.S. markets were closed and will reopen Monday, or Friday at the outside. But investors were bracing for a big hit when they restart.

Nikkei ends flat, up 2.99 points

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei index was essentially flat. It rose 2.99 points, or 0.03 percent, to 9,613.09.

The Nikkei collapsed through the key 10,000 mark for the first time in 17 years on Wednesday, closing off 6.6 percent.

The Topix index, which is broader than the Nikkei and has less of a tech bent, had greater gains. It closed up 12.71 points or 1.28 percent at 1,003.51, helped by large-cap telecom stocks.

Still, blue-chip manufacturers such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Sony Corp. extended their slide Thursday.

Consumer confidence likely to fall in U.S.

They and many other Asian stocks closed down the daily limit on Wednesday. An expected decline in U.S. consumer confidence will likely hit their exports to the United States.

Toyota Motor Corp., now Japan's largest listing, fell 5.59 percent to 3,210 yen. Nissan Motor Co. slipped 7.63 percent to 605 yen.

Tech standard bearer Sony shed 5.29 percent to 4,480 yen. It depends on the U.S. market for 30 percent of its sales, where household spending is expected to take a blow.

NTT DoCoMo makes good gains

Japan's largest cell-phone company, NTT DoCoMo Inc., rose 8.77 percent to 1.24 million yen.

That mirrored the performance of its European telecom peers.

DoCoMo's parent, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. firmed 5.26 percent to 480,000 yen, snapping a six-day losing spell.

Japan's Finance Ministry said Thursday that the country's trade surplus shrank 50.1 percent to 579.8 billion yen ($4.85 billion) in July.

That was the eighth straight month of decline, as the global slowdown and a slump in high-tech spending hit the world's second-biggest economy.

Japan's banks and insurance companies may be forced to realize stock losses, given the decline in the markets, further depressing prices.

In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index rose 17.9 points to 3,126.4, backtracking from an initial 1.7 percent rally.

It had lost 4.1 percent on Wednesday.

Investors sought the safety of big blue chip stocks. The largest listing in Sydney, media group News Corp., rose 28 cents or 2.1 percent to A$13.78.

The second-largest listing, Australia's biggest telecom Telstra Corp., rose 3.4 percent to A$4.83.

Australian banks close mixed

The two biggest banks, National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank, which rallied as much as 2.6 percent in early trade, closed mixed as brokers cashed in on their liquidity.

Flagship carrier Qantas Airlines rose three cents to A$3.15. It has refused to buy out its loss-making domestic rival Ansett Australia from Air New Zealand.

Furniture and electronics retailer Harvey Norman dropped 4.1 percent to A$3.68 after posting an annual profit that was down four percent at A$105.16 million.

In New Zealand, the benchmark NZSE-40 Capital index rose 1.1 percent to close at 1,894. That was a respite after Wednesday's 4.6 percent drop.

Air New Zealand's B shares, open to overseas investors, rose 3 cents to NZ$0.74. It reported a net loss of NZ$1.4 billion Thursday as it wrote off its investment in Ansett.

Ansett entered voluntary administration on Wednesday.

Telecom New Zealand, the largest listing in Wellington, rose 3.2 percent to NZ$4.49.

Hong Kong moves up 0.8 percent

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng index moved ahead with a 0.8 percent gain. It closed at 9,569.21.

Hong Kong's market, which is closely tied to the United States, crashed through the key 10,000 barrier on Wednesday, giving up 8.9 percent.

Hong Kong's largest listing, bank giant HSBC, fell 1.25 percent to HK$79.

Most of the top gainers on Thursday were Wednesday's big losers.

Cathay Pacific Airways recovered 5.19 percent to HK$7.10 after diving 19.16 percent on Wednesday. Airline losses are mounting as most U.S. flights remain grounded.

Small-motor maker Johnson Electric Holdings rebounded 3.08 percent from an 18.75 percent slide on Wednesday.

China's largest cell-phone company, China Mobile, rose 3.61 percent to HK$20.10. It dropped 9.56 percent on Wednesday.

The stock has been punished on fears it is not adding high-end customers. But it gained after rival China Unicom reported the same problem.

China Unicom ended down 4.27 pct at HK$7.85, after the mainland's No. 2 cell-phone carrier posted worse than expected half-year results.

Unicom said its average revenue per user fell 33 percent.

In Seoul, the benchmark Kospi jumped 5.0 percent to close at 499.25, the day's high.

It had tumbled an eye-popping 12.0 percent on Wednesday, in a shortened session, as more than two-thirds of Korean stocks lost the daily limit.

On Thursday, world memory chip No. 3 Hynix Semiconductor made up one third of the volume on the exchange. It rose the daily 15 percent limit to 1,165 won.

Financial stocks were boosted by the central bank's move to ease monetary policy. Kookmin Bank rose 11.3 percent to 17,800 won.

In Taiwan, the benchmark Taiex fell 5.4 percent to 3,952.49. The market was suspended on Wednesday after the attacks in the United States.

But they came back a little in the day after opening at their lowest point, down 6.6 percent.

The largest listing, world contract chip No. 1 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, fell the daily 7 percent limit to T$59.

Rival and world contract chip No. 2 United Microelectronics fell the daily limit to T$35.90.

Stocks also reopened to sizable drops in Malaysia and Thailand.

In Singapore, the benchmark Straits Times index was down 0.9 percent at 1,437.43 in afternoon trade.

Reuters contributed to this report.